The area known as Delmarva is located along the east coast and includes the state of Delaware along with the eastern shore counties of Maryland and Virginia. The peninsula is bordered by the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River, Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, and while we are just a few hours from many major cities such as D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia, we are definitely a distinctive place. "Community • Local • Together We Accomplish More"

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

A Forgotten Veterans Cemetery on Maryland's Eastern Shore

The John Wesley Methodist Church is located in Deal Island, Maryland. On a sunny Sunday in a small waterfront town located along the Chesapeake Bay, I stopped to look at this damaged and forgotten little church.

I couldn't help but notice the overwhelming number of
veterans headstones; so many who died in the name of freedom.During my first visit out here it was very sad to see the torn and tattered small American flags, many of them lying on the ground. About 6 months later I went back, on Memorial Day 2015, and spent the day pulling weeds and cleaning the branches and debris away from the tombstones. Sadly, in many places the ground had sunken and some of the tops of the caskets were exposed and you could see them falling into pieces. After I'd cleaned up as much as possible I put a small American flag by each veteran's headstone.

Such a wide variety of wars these heroes served in. I went home and looked online for more information but this is all I could find; a defunct Facebook page....."Efforts are under way to help preserve the only remaining African American Church, on Deal Island, Maryland. This Church is in desperate need of repair and if we don't act now the building will fade away."https://www.facebook.com/SaveJohnWesleyCurchAn article written in February 2013 about this church and cemetery; "John Wesley United Methodist, too, exhibits some greater past that’s been forgotten, neglected. The church was once a cornerstone of the African American community on the island, but declining membership caused it to be shuttered, and a decade of neglect shows in the glass-less windows, the cracked and waterlogged cemetery vaults. A restoration effort appears not to have picked up much steam."http://www.abandonedcountry.com/2013/02/25/deal-island-maryland-and-better-days-gone-by